Ekologisk nötköttsproduktion i Gävleborgs län

The objective of this study was to make an inventory and a potential analysis of the organic beef \nproduction in the region of Gävleborg, Sweden. A survey was conducted, where a questionaire \nwas sent to all farmers in the region who had environmental subsidies concerning organic \ncropping systems in 2001. In total, there were 701 farmers, of which 46 % participated in the \nstudy. Three slaughter houses were interviewed to get their pictures of the development of \norganic beef production. The study shows that there are potentials and interests in the region to \nincrease the production of organic beef. Cattle on farms with organic cropping systems constitute \n18 % of the total number of cattle in the region. However, in the study only 42 % of the farms \nwith organic cropping systems have cattle reared organicly according to EU rules for organic \nanimal production. Furthermore, only 18 % of the farms with organic cropping systems are \nassociated to KRAV (the organic certification organisation). The cost for certifying production \naccording to KRAV is high if the production is small. Several of the farmers in the study would \nhave certified their production according to KRAV if the certification was less expensive, as \nmany farms have too small of a production to get a certification profitable. Another problem for \nan increased production of organic beef in the region is the lack of demand. Slaughter houses and \nfood industry cannot sell all the organic beef that can be produced. Local operators could give \nthe organic beef a positive development. Product development, exposure and marketing of the \nproducts are necessary to give the consumers possibilities to explore and choose organic beef.